preparing for the eggs...anything else i need to do?

[aran]

Hi guys...well i looked at the calendar...our chicks are 18 - 19 weeks old on monday ( cant remember the exact day they were hatched. I know i ordered them from ideal in late April).
The rooster (RIR) has started to mount various hens. Several of the hens have had significant growth and reddening of their combs. The two sexlinks I rescued are also very red in the combs. One of them was mounted by the roo last night.
SOOOOOOOOOOOO im thinking that maybe just maybe eggs are not too far away. I have white crested and rouen ducks that are about 5.5months old now as well. Anyways...i just went out to the coop, cleaned and refilled the pool ( its about 6feet long, about 3-4feet wide and about 18inches deep) for the ducks, filled the covered section of the run ( just a sun/wind shelter really...6x4 A frame hut thing i put up) with about 12 inches deep of straw/hay, turned over the shavings in the main coop and added another 3 inches of fresh shavings to the top, filled the nesting boxes with about 6inches of straw on top of the 2-3 inches of shavings and put a golf ball in each of the 4 nesting boxes.
The birds have been on layer pellets /grower ration mix + oyster shell/egg shells for those of them that choose to eat it + kitchen scraps now for the last 2 weeks.

Anything else I need to do or am I WAAAY to early to be hoping eggs are on the way?

 

[Smitty's Farm]

I bet it won't be too much longer before you have eggs. I just moved my chickens to the coop almost 2 weeks ago. I prepared the nest boxes and put ceramic eggs in them. Every morning before I'd let them out of their coop I'd feed them first and then show each one the nest box. They thought I was crazy. It's like what is this box and this lump. The good news is that don't won't to sleep in them. My hens turned 19 wks old on Wed and one of my SL Wyandottes layed her first egg yesterday. Hope they all start popping them out soon.